Arrow keys move between strings and frets. Enter or Space selects a note.
Swipe the neck for higher frets ›
- 0I1
- 0M&
- 0T2
- 0I&
- 0M3
- 0T&
- 0I4
- 0M&
Top line is the 1st string · numbers are frets, 0 is open · T thumb · I index · M middle
The Forward roll is an 8-note picking pattern that follows the strings 2 1 5 2 1 5 2 1, picked index, middle, thumb, index, middle, thumb, index, middle.
Reading the Roll
The roll is written as banjo tab under the neck. Each of the five lines is a string, with the 1st string (the highest long string, next to the floor when you play) on top and the short 5th string at the bottom. A number on a line is the fret to play on that string, and 0 means the open string. Under each note, T, I and M are the thumb, index and middle finger: the thumb takes strings 5, 4 and 3, the index takes string 2 and the middle takes string 1. Count the eight notes as 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &, evenly. While the roll plays, the note sounding now is highlighted in the tab and ringed on the neck. Tap a fret on any string to change which note that string plays.
Speed and Sustain
Speed sets the time between one note and the next (Slow 900 ms, Medium 600 ms, Fast 300 ms). It does not shorten the notes: each one keeps ringing like an open banjo string until it fades, so at Slow you hear more of each note on its own and at Fast the notes overlap into the familiar rolling sound. The roll plays twice through, sixteen notes, with the same gap between the two passes as between any two notes.
About This Roll
The forward roll is the first roll most banjo players learn and the foundation of Scruggs-style picking. Each group moves forward through index, middle and thumb (strings 2, 1 and 5), producing a bright, cascading sound that's instantly recognizable as bluegrass banjo. Earl Scruggs built much of his revolutionary style around variations of this fundamental pattern.